Kosher Food 101
The following guidelines apply to the cooking contest being held
at A Medieval Purim. Cooking kosher
is not difficult, and we hope this description reassures you and
doesn't scare you off. If you have questions, please contact the
head cook.
Meat
Species that chew the cud and have split hooves are kosher.
This includes cow, sheep, goat, deer, and even bison.
All the standard birds are kosher: chicken, turkey, duck, cornish
game hen, pigeon. Strictly speaking, meat is only kosher
if slaughtered in a particular way; for purposes of this event,
so long as it's a kosher species feel free to bring it.
Species that are not kosher include pig and rabbit.
(Ask if unsure.)
Gotcha #1: sausage that is "beef" might still have a pork casing.
Look for "all beef" (or "all turkey" or whatever). A common
kosher brand (available in grocery stores that don't otherwise
carry kosher meat) is Hebrew National.
Gotcha #2: pie crusts are often made with lard, which is pig fat.
If it doesn't say "all vegetable" (or if you didn't make it yourself),
it probably does and you shouldn't use it.
If you are local to Pittsburgh, Murray Avenue Kosher (across the
street from Giant Eagle) carries many useful items, including frozen
pie crusts. Note: they close early on Fridays and are closed on
Saturdays, so don't wait until the last minute. :-)
Fish
Fish that have fins and scales are kosher. This includes most
common fish -- salmon, tuna, cod, haddock, tilapia, etc (pretty
much all whitefish), trout, snapper... Fish that are not
kosher are catfish and swordfish. In addition, shellfish (shrimp,
lobster, etc) and other sea critters (octapus, eel, squid, etc)
are not kosher.
Other ingredients
All fruits, vegetables, and grains are kosher. Eggs are kosher
and are neither meat nor dairy. Go wild. :-)
Meat and milk
Mixing meat and milk in the same meal is not permitted. This event
is serving meat, so please do not bring dishes containing milk.
"Milk" includes milk, cream, butter, and cheese -- anything derived
from milk. If you need fat, oil often works well (particularly
in baking and frying). If you use margarine, check the label -- some
use milk. Fleishmann's is certified kosher pareve (neutral, non-milk).
Labelling
A lot of pre-packaged food these days is labelled with its kashrut
status. The most common symbol is a "U" inside an "O"; if you see that
symbol and it does not have a "D" next to it, it is fine
for this event. (The OU symbol by itself means pareve, neutral.
"D" means dairy.)